Commuters faced long delays after a fire under a train at Upwey station (From Dorset Echo)

Commuters faced long delays after a fire under a train at Upwey station

10:30am Friday 25th January 2013 in News By Catherine Bolado

PEOPLE travelling to get to work yesterday morning found themselves waiting for trains at Weymouth station for several hours while safety checks were done on the lines.

Fire crews from Weymouth were called to Upwey train station just after 6am and helped train staff evacuate about 20 passengers.

The train staff had used extinguishers on the fire before the Weymouth crew’s arrival.

A spokesman for Network Rail said the driver of the 5.55am train from Weymouth to London Waterloo was alerted to the fire.

He said: “The driver reported severe arcing and a fire underneath the unit at Upwey.”

He added that no-one had been injured and no smoke entered the carriages.

A spokesman for South West Trains said: “The problem with the shoe gear was at the front of the train and as a precaution two passengers were moved to the rear coach of the train where the other customers were seated.

“A bus replacement service was put in place between Dorchester South and Weymouth while the train was moved and normal services were running by just after 9am.

“We would like to apologise to our passengers for any inconvenience cau-sed.”

The spokesman added that the train was now at their depot and an investigation was underway to find the cause of the fire. Customers left waiting at Weymouth station said they had been left ‘unimpressed’ as they did not feel they had been given enough information.

Mica Butland, 22, was on her way to work in Dorchester.

She said all she had heard was that there was a problem but ‘nothing else’ had been said.

She said: “It’s a little bit annoying.”

Another passenger, who did not wish to be named, said he had been waiting on the train and had heard about the fire but was told it would cause ‘minimal disruption’.

He said after waiting for a long time he decided to leave.

He said: “I’m hoping for a refund, especially considering the train price has gone up and this isn’t the first time we have had delays.”

Passengers said they had been moved around carriages and told they would be underway soon.

Nathan Allgood was on his way to Dorchester. He said: “I have been waiting since 6.25am.”

Fellow passenger James Williamson said he had heard Network Rail engineers had walked up the track and were ‘following the line up to Upwey’ to check it was okay. Matt Bartlett was off to work in Dorchester and said he was not impressed by the lack of information.

He said: “We have just been left.

“I’m unimpressed.”

Mr Allgood and Mr Williamson agreed they were also ‘unimpressed’. Passengers affected by the delays should call South West Trains on 0845 6000 650.